McCAFFERY: Flyers' lack of stars leading to lack of wins

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers lost again Thursday, in their usual fashion, laboring to score. They will take a week off, at least from losing, and will entertain the Rangers next Thursday. That will give Craig Berube time to attempt the impossible.

That will give him time to try and give the Flyers something they do not have — and exactly what the Pittsburgh Penguins did have in surplus during their 4-1 victory Thursday. That will give him time to work or wish or develop some Flyer, any Flyer, into a star-level player, one worth a worn carpet toward the replica-jersey aisle, one worth being booed in opposing arenas, one recognizable, interesting hockey celebrity.

Better hurry.“Some guys take a little longer than others, and a lot of it is a speed thing, too,” Berube said. “And I do believe that you can get somewhat quicker. Not everybody is going to be able to go as fast as other guys, but just a quicker play, the quicker thinking, that sort of thing, that takes practice to get there.

“It takes time.”It usually takes a lifetime to achieve and sustain pro-sports excellence. And while improvement can be achieved with hard work and the head coach screaming during practice, it is unlikely that the Flyers will be able to realize that with a few after-hours workouts in Voorhees.

Because they need more. They need Danny Briere. Or Keith Primeau. Or Chris Pronger, or John LeClair, or Brian Propp, or Eric Lindros, or somebody, anybody who can share the ice with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin without being made to appear better suited for the between-periods amateur skits.

That’s what happened Thursday. The Flyers prepared to win. The Flyers thought they could win. The other night, after a loss to Vancouver, Claude Giroux even pulled out the if-you-know-hockey blackjack and started swinging, proclaiming impending improvement. They played hard, or seemed to, anyway. But the Penguins had Malkin, whose artistry created their first goal, and Crosby, whose third-period goal emptied the joint. And they are embodiments of what pro sports has become — a star-driven enterprise.

The Flyers believed they had a player on that level, and that it was Giroux, once called the world’s best hockey player by his former coach. He is only 25, and he had a major finger injury in the offseason, and he has had his play-of-the-day moments in his career. But he ended the night still goal-free in the Flyers’ 1-7 season.

So, no, Giroux is not a star, not now.

Later? Soon? Ever? “Yeah,” Berube said. “I see him improving. I’d like to see less ‘press’ out of him and just a little more free-flowing Claude playing the game and doing his thing. It’s coming.”

That’s Berube’s lament, that the Flyers are trying too hard. Ultimately, their sport should reward them for that. Work hard, achieve. Repeat. It is right there on Page 1 of the hockey instruction manual.

Yet even when there is not one more end-to-end sprint to complete at practice, winning an NHL game still can require a memorable player to make a memorable play. Giroux did have an assist Thursday, Wayne Simmonds tipping one in late in the second period. But everything the Flyers achieve — and so far, that hasn’t been much — seems to bring them to exhaustion.

The Flyers will attempt to acquire stars. They always have. Figure them to make a trade, and soon. But with Briere gone, and with Vinny Lecavalier injured, and with Giroux pressing, and with Pronger done, and with Kimmo Timonen aged, they have nothing to lift them to success on nights when Malkin and Crosby can combine for four points.

“It is not easy right now,” said Steve Mason, the goalie. “We are struggling to create offense. I am just trying to make the saves I can make, and be patient. It will come.”

Goals might come. Wins should come. But real success? That won’t come until the Flyers find some stars who can tilt games with their skills, not just their playbooks. And those players don’t just surface, no matter what Craig Berube has planned for the next week.